FEMA's Latest excuse

Update from Oxfam America

FEMA's Latest Excuse
Today at 12:04pm


FEMA's Latest Excuse
Today at 12:04pm
"No one asked us for the supplies."

That was the response of a FEMA official when asked why tens of millions of dollars in critical supplies were not distributed to survivors of Hurricane Katrina. With poor people still living in trailers three years after the worst natural disaster in US history, that is FEMA’s excuse?

Were those supplies needed?

"Of course they were," said Glenda Perryman, director of Mississippi-based, and Oxfam America partner organization, United Hearts Community Action Agency.

Recently, CNN did a report on how millions of dollars' worth of supplies were given away, rather than sent to help people in need. The reason? FEMA said no one asked for them. Can you believe that?

Help Oxfam America do something to change the situation. Please tell FEMA today that you want the supplies delivered to people who need them most-those affected by Hurricane Katrina. http://act.oxfamamerica.org/campaign/fema_2008?source=08fy_ac_facebook

Even before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast, Louisiana and Mississippi were the two poorest states in the nation. Nearly one in five residents lived below the national poverty line of about $20,000 in annual income for a family of four. Good schools, job opportunities, and decent housing were scarce. Now the region is in crisis.

Nearly three years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita carved their destructive paths across the Gulf Coast, life is still far from normal for many thousands of people displaced by the storms. Many have not been able to rebuild their houses, and so they continue to live in trailers or even in buses or on boats.

Oxfam America, working through its partner organizations in the region, continues to support efforts to ensure that all survivors-including people most direly affected by the storms, such as African-Americans, the elderly, immigrants, and poor people-have a voice in decisions about the recovery process.

Unfortunately, FEMA is still not doing its part. Join Oxfam America and our partners in calling on FEMA to do everything it can to get the supplies to Katrina survivors. http://act.oxfamamerica.org/campaign/fema_2008?source=08fy_ac_facebook

Thanks!

Tim Fullerton
Oxfam America